Star India to expand Sports Channel in 5 regional markets

By Gaurav Laghate

MUMBAI: Rupert Murdoch-controlled Star India is set to expand its sports channels portfolio in India by entering five regional markets.


The company, which already operates eight sports channels including four in HD (high definition) in English and Hindi, has procured licenses from the ministry of information and broadcasting for another 10 sports channels, confirmed a top official, while refusing to divulge further details.

The new channels include one standard-definition and one HD channel each in Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. During the Cricket World Cup 2015, Star Sports had aired the matches in multiple regional-language feeds to deepen penetration.

So far, Star India and Sony Pictures Networks India have experimented with regional language feeds of properties like FIFA World Cup, Cricket World Cup, Indian Premier League (IPL), Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), and Indian Super League (ISL); but no broadcasting network in India has a dedicated sports channel in any regional languages.

Media observers have mixed reactions to Star TV’s new initiative, considering that the company has not disclosed any details. “Distribution-wise, sports channels do not have deep penetration; so in that sense, this could be a good move as the genre did witness an increase in viewership when Hindi channels were launched by the networks.

But a lot will also depend on programming and commentary in case of live sports,” said a senior executive of a media buying firm who requested not to be named.

With the content rights already secured, launching sports channels will not be a very costly affair for the company, the person added. A top executive of rival sports network, however, said that even if this gives Star an early mover advantage if it actually launches regional sports channels, it will not be an economically viable proposition.